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| Kyle Hoppy played four years as an outfielder in the Baltimore Orioles system before coming back to college. Buffalo State athletics photo |
By Andrew Lovell
D3sports.com
Kyle Hoppy's first love was baseball.
As a kid growing up in Orchard Park, N.Y. -- a town famous for being home to the NFL's Buffalo Bills -- Hoppy would spend days in the backyard catching, throwing and hitting a baseball, and nights dreaming of the same.
Even when football came into his life and carved out a soft spot in his sports heart, he couldn't shake the idea of playing baseball at the highest level.
So after the Baltimore Orioles selected him in the 28th round of the 2009 draft, Hoppy ultimately passed on opportunities to enroll in college and play football, including FCS-level Bucknell, and signed to play baseball professionally.
"It was always a dream come true for me," Hoppy said.
Fast forward to today. Hoppy's baseball dream wasn't exactly a nightmare, but it certainly didn't play out like he hoped. After hitting just .188 over 141 games in parts of four seasons as an outfielder at the Rookie and Class-A levels, Hoppy made the difficult decision to give up the game that had given him so much.
"It took some sacrifices, but I was happy I made that decision" to play baseball, Hoppy said. "... I always had in the back of my mind, if it didn't pan out for me the way I had hoped it would, I was going to try and go back to school and get my education, and hopefully go somewhere where I could play football again."
That's when Buffalo State came into the picture, or back into the picture, in reality. Coach Jerry Boyes was one of many coaches to scout Hoppy back in the late 2000s, but Hoppy was up front at the time about his interest in pursuing baseball.
After stepping away from the minor leagues, Hoppy reached out to Garrett McLaughlin, a Buffalo State assistant coach and former high school teammate. Through McLaughlin, Hoppy reconnected with Boyes. Not long after that, Hoppy decided to enroll at Buffalo State.
As a high school athlete, Hoppy was invited to Baltimore for a pre-draft workout. His baseball skills were always evident. But he was no slouch in football, either. He started at quarterback as a junior and senior at Orchard Park High School, and helped lead the team to a state championship.
As a 22-year-old freshman last season, Hoppy sat behind all-Empire 8 standout Casey Kacz. Both Hoppy and Kacz knew each other in high school and had attended many of the same football camps, so that familiarity helped Hoppy get back in the football flow.
With Kacz gone, Hoppy and freshman Aaron Ertel battled for the starting job in the spring, as well as training camp. Hoppy took hold of the job as much for his skills as his leadership ability.
"He has that 'it' factor, you might say, when it comes to leading and having guys rally around him," Boyes said. "... There's a lot of people out there that have the skillset; throw, run, whatever. The difference between someone who has the skillset and being a true quarterback is the leadership aspect, the understanding of the offense."
At an even 6 feet and 205 pounds, the left-handed Hoppy certainly looks the part of a starting quarterback. Boyes said Hoppy boasts quick feet and above-average speed, along with a deft touch on his throws. The one thing Hoppy didn't have to shake rust off was his throwing arm, as that got a healthy workout as an every-day outfielder.
But being able to sit for a year behind Kacz has certainly benefitted Hoppy, who has come out firing in the Bengals' first two games of 2014. In Buffalo State's first two games, both wins, Hoppy has completed 34 of his 58 passes for 608 yards, eight touchdowns and just one interception. He's also rushed for 161 yards and another two touchdowns.
Statistically speaking, Hoppy ranks among the nation's leaders in passing yards, touchdowns and efficiency, though he's more concerned with the "2" in Buffalo State's win column.
"I don't even want to look at that stuff," Hoppy said. "I just want to make sure when the clock strikes zero that we have more points than them. That's really all that matters to me."
Boyes, himself a former standout signal caller at Ithaca, knows what to look for in quarterbacks. Talent, poise, trust -- he sees it all in Hoppy.
"His age helps because there's a maturity factor there," Boyes said.
All in all, not too shabby for a 23-year-old business administration major who, just about two years ago wasn't sure what his future held. He's gone from playing baseball with current major leaguers Manny Machado and Jonathan Schoop to throwing touchdowns to Mike Doherty and Ryan Carney.
And he doesn't regret how any of it has played out.
"Not at all," Hoppy said. "I'm proud that I gave it my best shot at doing what I had dreamed of doing. Right now I have a new dream, and that's to get my education and play football."
Hartwick's Bell runs wild, but Morrisville State rallies
A career day for Hartwick running back Greg Bell couldn't help the Hawks hold off a stunning Morrisville State rally.
Bell rushed for 331 yards and three touchdowns on a whopping 51 carries, but the Mustangs scored the game's last 22 points over the final 10:44 to pull out a 43-40 win.
Hartwick entered the fourth quarter with a 26-21, and quickly jumped out to a commanding 40-21 lead after pick-sixes by David Van Alstine and Nate Farley on consecutive passes by Morrisville State quarterback Lemar Johnson. At that point, Hartwick seemed safely on track for a win.
But Johnson led three touchdown drives on the team's next three possessions -- the first and third of which were aided by a long kickoff return and blocked field goal, respectively -- to put the Mustangs in front with just 34 seconds remaining. Hartwick ran out of time on its final drive, despite getting down to the Morrisville State 9-yard line.
Johnson finished with 290 yards and four touchdowns through the air, and an additional 87 yards and two TDs on the ground. But the statistical marvel of this game was Bell, a senior running back who managed just 15 yards on nine carries in Hartwick's season-opening win against Western Connecticut. Bell scored on touchdown runs of 5, 1, and 13 yards, and had a game-long rush of 40 yards.
Morrisville State improved to 2-0, which stands as a wildly successful start to the season, considering the team hasn't won more than three games in a season since the program's start in 2006.
Utica erases 16-0 deficit, tops Union
It's cliche to say, sure, but Utica's 23-16 win against Union this past weekend really was a tale of two halves.
Union controlled the game in the first half, building a 16-0 halftime lead. That only set the stage for the Pioneers to score the game's final 23 points and rally for their second win of the season.
Union kicker Jonathan Schiable opened the scoring with a 33-yard field goal, and quarterback Connor Eck tossed TD passes to Kyle Reynolds and Andrew Baker as the Dutchmen scored on three of their first five possessions. Utica's six first-half possessions all ended badly -- two fumbles lost, one interception, one punt and a pair of turnovers on downs.
The second half was a bit smoother. Utica put together a pair of scoring drives in the third quarter, culminating in touchdown runs by Will Kassar (1-yard TD) and Jordan Baldassare (22-yard TD), to tie the game at 16-16. Cornerback Irvens Eristil took over after that.
The sophomore returned a fumble 17 yards for the go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter, and then came up with an interception on Union's final possession to slam the door shut.
Utica improved to 2-0 overall as it enters Empire 8 play, while Union fell to 0-2.
Another brutal finish for Cortland State
There's no way to sugarcoat this -- it's been a painful first two weeks for Cortland State.
After a 51-48 overtime loss to Buffalo State, in which they failed to run out the clock at the end of regulation, the Red Dragons absorbed a second straight loss when time expired on a penalty.
Cortland, trailing 17-14 to Brockport State in its home opener, had driven down to Brockport's 1-yard line. But the Red Dragons had spent all three of their timeouts on the previous Brockport possession to ensure they would get the ball back on offense. But Cortland was flagged for a false start with 3 seconds remaining, and since they were out of timeouts, a 10-second runoff was assessed. Just like that, it was game over.
Cortland fell to 0-2, but it is literally four seconds from being 2-0. That won't matter, of course, come playoff time, but it's unwise to write this team off just two weeks into the season. The Red Dragons still figure to push for the NJAC conference title. But there's no doubt the team needs to execute better in crunch-time situations.
Dylan Peebles rushed for 167 yards and both of Cortland's touchdowns. Nate Wilkinson caught 10 passes for 113 yards and both of Brockport's touchdowns.
Quick hits
Tyre Coleman had a pair of sacks and Hobart outgained Endicott 194-7 in rushing yards en route to a 28-18 victory. Dominique Ellis led all rushers with 67 yards, while Bradley Burns, Alex Furtado and Patrick Conlan all scored TDs on the ground. ... Seth Klein passed for 233 yards and three touchdowns, including two to Anthony Davis, and the defense allowed just three points in Widener's 45-3 rout of Lebanon Valley. ... Tyler Johnson passed for 203 yards and two TDs, including the go-ahead score on an 82-yard scoring pass to Brandon Buisch, and rushed for another 166 yards in Alfred's 34-31 win over RPI. Engineers quarterback Jeff Avery tossed four touchdowns in the loss. ... Keith Rodman rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown, Jonathan Marrero ran for 97 yards and three TDs, and Stephen Speidel added 71 yards and two scores on the ground in Springfield's 41-20 victory against Mass-Dartmouth. Danny Macalena (10 tackles, one sack, one interception) and Max Nacewicz (10 tackles, two sacks) highlighted a solid defensive effort by the Pride. ... Craig Needhammer rushed for 112 yards and a touchdown and Mike Gentile intercepted a pair of passes as Lycoming blanked MAC rival Albright. ... Nick Perpignan ran for 91 yards and a touchdown, while Myles Allen added 73 yards and a score on the ground in Rochester's season-opening 35-21 win over second-year program Alfred State. ... Ryan Dailey passed for 212 yards and three touchdowns in Wilkes' 41-7 win over Misericordia. Jeff Puckett rushed for 161 yards and the Cougars' only touchdown in the loss. ... Frank Fuccello and Khani Glover both scored rushing TDs in the fourth quarter as TCNJ rallied for a 17-13 win over FDU-Florham. ... Dylan Cumming's rushing touchdown in the second quarter marked the game's only points, as Cory Pietrzyk (13 tackles) and the Stevenson defense posted the school's first shutout in a 7-0 win over King's. ... Ben Sasu rushed for 75 yards and a pair of scores as Frostburg State improved to 2-0 with a 20-10 win over Shenandoah. ... Matt McDaniels rushed for 174 yards and a touchdown, and Mario Colangelo rushed for 110 yards and three TDs in Merchant Marine's 42-31 loss to Coast Guard in the annual Secretaries' Cup matchup. ... Zak Osbourne booted a 27-yard field goal for Salisbury's only offensive points in a lopsided 43-5 loss to Wesley. ... Sean Murphy returned the game's opening kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown, but WPI was outscored 30-10 the rest of the way en route to a 30-17 loss to Worcester State. ... Dillon Knight tallied three sacks as St. Lawrence held Norwich out of the end zone until the 10:40 mark in the fourth quarter, before ultimately falling, 10-7, to the Cadets.
Top 25: Widener breaks in
Widener made its season debut among the ranked teams, checking in at No. 24 in this week's D3football.com Top 25 poll.
St. John Fisher moved up one spot to No. 8. Hobart, Ithaca and Lycoming all held steady at No. 12, No. 19 and No. 23, respectively.
Rowan and Brockport State also received votes.
Looking ahead
No. 1 UW-Whitewater (2-0, 0-0) at TCNJ (1-1, 0-0), 2 p.m., Saturday: Even the most optimistic TCNJ fan can't give the Lions much of a chance in this matchup. But there's no tougher test than the defending national champions. And it was just two years ago that another East region team -- Buffalo State -- shocked the Warhawks.
No. 9 St. John Fisher (1-0, 0-0) at Brockport State (2-0, 0-0), 6 p.m., Saturday: Here's a great chance for upstart Brockport State to announce its presence in the Empire 8 with authority. This won't be an easy matchup for St. John Fisher.
Wilkes (1-1, 1-0) at Delaware Valley (1-0, 0-0), 7 p.m., Saturday: After a bye week, Delaware Valley opens its MAC slate against Wilkes, a team it narrowly defeated last season. This one bears watching.
Other games of note: Alfred (2-0, 0-0) at Buffalo State (2-0, 0-0), noon, Saturday; Albright (1-1, 0-1) at Widener (2-0, 1-0), 1 p.m., Saturday; Rowan (1-1, 0-0) at No. 4 Wesley (2-0), 1 p.m., Saturday
Contact me
I'm always happy to hear from you, whether its questions, feedback or story ideas. Please reach out to me by email at andrew.lovell@d3sports.com and follow me on Twitter (@andrew_lovell).
